The much anticipated album from Tye Tribbet “Greater Than” was released yesterday, August 6, and is now available in stores. The vibrant gospel artiste who recently got signed to Motown Records seems to be back in full swing after his last album “FRESH” which didn’t seem to get as much attention.
“I feel like I’m just re-introducing myself with this project. This is a totally fresh album” says Tye Tribbet
The release date for the album was earlier slated for June, but was pushed back to August 6.
Tye Tribbett, 34, is a hyper-energetic singer, songwriter, keyboardist and choir director from the Philadelphia area, and “Greater Than,” his new album and his first for Motown Gospel, is a pretty typical record heard from a distance.
But Mr. Tribbett is an exceptional gospel artist, and hearing it from a distance is the wrong idea. You want to follow it closely, because its songs are righteously carnivalesque, overstuffed in amazing ways.
One after another, they’re obsessively episodic, full of parts: they might include high-impact vamps with crashing cymbals and distorted guitars; bits of heavy funk, disco, country ballads, the most featherweight R&B and much more
The nine-and-a-half-minute “He Turned It” includes a minor-key waltz, a bridge interpolating the Vengaboys’ Euro-house hit “We Like to Party” and a fast two-beat stomp like a praise-break section in a service.
When its elements sound like pop, they don’t act like it; time isn’t compressed, and the gestures have time to stretch out. Each part stays for a serious while, investing heavily in you.
Mr. Tribbett cues the choir, preaches, maintains the energy in the house, sings lead and plies his little repeated signatures — “Everybody dance now” and a squeaky, high-pitched scream — though he’s a strong enough singer that he doesn’t need them.
They’re not necessary. But this record is never concerned with what’s necessary. It gives you too much of everything, brightly and generously.
Follow Tye Tribbett on Twitter @TyeTribbett
